When a technician deals with a customer, that customer is usually at his
or her most vulnerable point.They
have a problem that they are powerless to resolve themselves and they are at
your "mercy" in trying to resolve it. Because of this feeling of
helplessness, their "comfort zone" is very small indeed.

It is important for a technician to understand how customers feel when
they need to call in a service tech. Most of the time the customer will have
little or no knowledge on how the piece of equipment works. They will not
understand certain technical terms or language. What they do understand is that
they need the service you offer and they depend on you to provide those services
in a professional and timely manner.

They may certain pre-conceived notions about your service and what they
should expect. The service tech must deal with these notions whether they are
based on reality or fantasy. These notions cannot be dismissed as foolish or
invalid. Rather, we must take great pains in making sure that we address each of
these notions and let the customer know what he or she should expect from the
service experience. This is called setting a level of expectations.

In its basic form, a level of expectation is what the customer can and
should expect from you and your company. Anything less than this level of
expectation is not acceptable and will require an explanation. Anything over and
above this level is unexpected and a pleasant surprise. Every effort must be
made to insure that the level of expectations are met every time and exceeded
most of the time.

In some cases, levels of expectations are set artificially high prior to
a technician getting the service request. When selling a service contract for
example, a salesperson may state, "When you have a problem, we'll have a
tech there in under an hour!" While these statements may induce a company
to sign the contract, they set the stage for failure if the company cannot back
those statements up with that level of service.

Everyone involved in the service process must understand what the level
of expectations is for every customer. This knowledge helps you prioritize
service requests, establish workflow, and accurately meet the requirements of
your customers.

Up to this point we have discussed customer satisfaction, confidence, and
the customers comfort zone. Hopefully you understand the importance of each of
these topics. If not, please re read these pages again until you have a full
understanding of what these topics mean. It is not possible to continue building
skills if you are not comfortable with the information covered to this point.

Customers Can
(and do) Leave!

It is important to realize that your customers are not tied to your
company for life. Unless your business has a total monopoly on your products or
industry, your customers can go to whomever they choose to go to for service.
Always remember that your business depends on customer for income and survival.
Your customers can survive without your business but your business cannot
survive without its customers! It is important that your business understands
this premise. Your customers will continue to do business with you only as long
as they come away from the situation with a positive and good feeling. This
includes being appreciated, getting value for their money, and having each and
every one of their needs addressed. Fail to accomplish any of these items and
you place that customers future business at risk! Customer Service skills are
used to address these issues.